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DeJoy-Wos Family Foundation gift to provide scholarship funding and support to UNCP’s School of Business

May 25, 2017

The Louis DeJoy and Aldona Z. Wos Family Foundation has made a generous scholarship gift that will support the growing School of Business at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

The foundation was established by Dr. Wos, a former physician, U.S. Ambassador, and previous Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and her husband, Mr. DeJoy, a prominent entrepreneur and president of LDJ Global Strategies.

UNC Pembroke plans to build a state-of-the-art, $36 million facility to house the new School of Business. The university received $23 million from the Connect NC Bond in 2016 which was used to initiate the project.

“A driving mission of our foundation is to create opportunities for youth – opportunities to advance their education, to become engaged citizens, and to be consequential in our society,” stated Louis DeJoy. “We have found UNC Pembroke to be one of those institutions that can help to fulfill our mission.”

“Mr. DeJoy and Dr. Wos are world-renowned luminaries in business, medicine and public service and are a testament to the power of free enterprise and democracy,” said Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings. “I am pleased and grateful they have chosen to support UNC Pembroke after learning about our pivotal role as an anchor institution for regional economic development.”

DeJoy and Wos were on campus in October when DeJoy delivered a lecture, “An Entrepreneurial Life Story in a Democracy,” as part of the School of Business’ Distinguished Speaker Series. For more than 30-years DeJoy served as chairman and CEO of New Breed Logistics, and in 2014 merged the company with XPO Logistics—creating one of the largest global contact logistics companies. He retired in 2015 as chief executive officer of XPO Logistics’ supply chain business in the Americas.

DeJoy shared his personal story of how he grew his father’s small trucking business into a nationally recognized multi-million dollar logistics company with more than 8,000 employees.

Wos served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services from 2013 to 2015. She served as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Estonia from 2004 to 2006. President Donald Trump recently announced his intent to appoint Wos as vice chair of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. White House Fellowships offer exceptional young men and women first-hand experience working at the highest levels of the federal government.

The couple lives in Greensboro. Their twins, Ania and Andrew DeJoy, both attend Duke University.

During their visit, Wos and DeJoy got a chance to interact with Dr. Barry O’Brien, dean of the School of Business. O’Brien said this gift “represents an investment in the business education of the next generation of leaders that will spur economic development in North Carolina.”

University supporters say the new facility will be a great recruitment tool and serve as a training program for students who choose to live in this area after they graduate.

The new facility will be a cutting-edge learning space for North Carolina’s next generation of executives and entrepreneurs. In addition to classrooms, the building will include a career services center, a fully-equipped auditorium, a video conference room, computer lab, collaborative lounges and study spaces, and a multimedia resource room that empowers students to engage in the global conversation.

UNCP was also recently awarded a $1,892,900 grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation to provide classroom technology for the future school.